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The Life Cycle of a Cult tends to be marked by clear stages.

1. The Big Idea

A dominant personality or figureheads present a revolutionary approach that promises a panacea for alienated and vulnerable people.

Thus we find ourselves. They’re getting ready to storm the compound overseas. The gunships are circling. Smoke is rising from the sidelines. An isolated player, exposed, nervous, the phrase ATTACKING MINDSET displayed prominently as a symbol, has emerged from the field and is being led away in secrecy towards an inconclusive loan stint at Derbyshire.

Remember the early days, when optimism reigned? The days of Bazball 1.0, of uninhibited aggression.

2. Initial Adoration

Movement founders promise a reboot, a brighter tomorrow, love, success within a community united in belief in the method.

How did it feel at first? A team united basking in glory. Tattoos. Muscles. Focus. Confident masculinity. Of course, England’s players will claim they don’t use the label, which is funny because if it doesn’t exist, what was that spectacle?

Yet it’s clear its essence. It’s Harry Brook attempting a move so unconventional it has to be pixelated. It’s the thrill of the captain at his peak, an expression conveying: pensive Nordic god, beard made of wood, untamed style, truly contemporary you almost imagine to notice and find him positioned at mid-off stripped to the waist embracing nature.

It’s the opener still being allowed addressing the media, appearing as a joyful figure formally attired, saying stuff like we’re breaking down traditions. Indeed, the vibe, for a significant period, was only good energy.

3. The Growth Phase

Growth phase. Togetherness strengthened by rote learning of mantras. These principles can appear contradictory as a test of “true belief”.

Does anyone else feel? The criticism, the outrage, the disappointment post-defeat feels overblown, too much. The batting collapsed in Perth, as they often do in Australia. They were dominated in the field during a brief period as plans unraveled, outplayed by the batsman batting like England but better, adaptive to conditions, a man playing with aura.

Currently, we see the criticism, the frustration, the perception of the team as a disgrace. The consensus is that England don’t just need to lose, they need to lose righteously, to be scoured, destroyed, destroyed via traditional methods of the bowler’s action, the low-fi orthodoxies of the bowler, marking his wickets with a bashful smile like he’s just been given a pleasant gift. How will they respond?

4. The Backlash Phase

Challenges surface due to setbacks. Yet, mistakes are denied. It starts to feed on anger towards critics.

Ultimately, approaching from the second Test, we have now reached a delicious point of tension in the journey of this movement. Victory is possible overseas through aggressive play. More likely, they could lose just as quickly. Should they fail it appears we could be witnessing the final stage.

Before that happens, a couple of points to note about this. In the past, back in those heady early days, of light and heat, I wrote an article labeling it a movement. People were very angry, which proved the point since it’s clear a method to show lack of cult status is when its acolytes send hundreds of furiously one-eyed messages rejecting criticism of its truths.

The developments recently is just as interesting. Opposition to the style has turned into a movement. We have a uniformly angry internet, disappointed commentators, images of frustrated followers overseas missing out on play, reminiscent of investors demanding recourse.

Conversely, we have the wider backdrop of the host’s complex more culturally hard-wired exasperation at these weirdly passive-aggressive buccaneers, stating, your cherished traditions and have honed to distinguish yourselves culturally from us, it’s not serious ultimately.

This is the core issue. It’s all cults. Bazball was a cult as the game has its own culture. Or rather, the sport in England is closed, a circle, a garden party, an insular community with centuries of tradition and mystery supporting it. It has long been a place where power and access are hoarded. It’s the colonial game of the nation, the original sports washers. And notably, Britain is itself a cult, a structure of hidden ranks, a place that literally still has a king.

The team have been sealed up in this environment since childhood. Attempting to break free, to build a better atmosphere, they are just repeating their own experience, creating another a bubble, an exclusive group, but doing it this time with a new team and a coach promoting authenticity provided you conform.

Live where your feet are. Confront risks. However much you change, you’re always basically in the same place.

Considering this, now is the time to have some sympathy for the movement, to appreciate its good points, that are numerous. How to define it? Promoting liberation. Questioning traditions. Batting aggressively|Attacking with